Vidyard upload: raw files up to 20 GB, H.264 up to 4K

Vidyard keeps the raw file you upload, up to 20 GB, and encodes MP4 derivatives itself: H.264, progressive, at the source frame rate and a variable bitrate, from 360p up to 2160p. Audio is AAC, 2-channel stereo, 48 kHz. Videos with multiple audio tracks must be uploaded as H.264/AAC in an .mp4. This is from Vidyard, read 2026-10-01.

What does Vidyard do with an upload?

Do I need to tune the encode before I upload?

Vidyard says it handles optimization of encoding settings for you. That suits Sume, which has no bitrate or codec field: you choose size, frame rate and length, and Vidyard re-encodes. Frame rate carries through, so pick 24, 25, 30 or 60 deliberately.

How do I render a 1080p file for Vidyard?

Timeline 1.0 (POST /v1/timeline-1.0/render) takes output.width and output.height as even integers from 256 to 2160 and output.fps of 24, 25, 30 or 60, or omits fps to match the sources. It needs an Idempotency-Key, accepts only media.sume.com sources, and returns one MP4 at $0.10 per output minute, rounded up. The unbilled POST /v1/timeline-1.0/plan previews the cost first.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/timeline-1.0/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: vidyard-1080p-001" \
  -d '{
    "audio": { "mode": "silence", "duration_seconds": 90 },
    "output": { "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "fps": 30 },
    "video": [
      { "source_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_demo/shot.mp4",
        "start": 0, "duration": 90, "fit": "cover" }
    ]
  }'

Can I get a 2160p derivative?

Vidyard lists resolutions up to 2160p. Timeline's width and height stop at 2160 each, so a 16:9 frame at 3840x2160 cannot be requested. 1920x1080 is the practical maximum for a landscape clip, and 2160x3840 is also past the cap.

How do I check audio and size?

Probe the finished file with Video inspect 1.0. With frames: false it is a probe only, it is unbilled, and it reports width, height, container, fps and duration_seconds. It does not report file size, codec or bitrate, so check those with a local tool before you upload.